UPDATE 1-Britain's financial watchdog flags data breach on website

Britain's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on Tuesday said confidential information, including the names of people who had made complaints against the watchdog in 2018 and 2019, may have been accessible on its website.

The FCA said on Tuesday, the private data, which may have been accessible following a response to a Freedom of Information request in November, was removed from its website as soon as it became aware of the issue. It has undertaken a full review to identify the scale and scope of the data breach and has apologised to those individuals affected.

"The publication of this information was a mistake by the FCA," the watchdog said. "Our primary concern is to ensure the protection and safeguarding of individuals who may be identifiable from the data," the FCA said. The watchdog also said that no financial, payment card, passport or other identity information were made accessible.

Also on Tuesday Gina Miller, leader of consumer campaign group, True & Fair, published a report that strongly criticised the FCA for its "poor regulation" of Britain's financial sector. The report highlighted the failure of Woodford Investment Management and the collapse of investment firm London Capital & Finance as examples of the watchdog's ineffective supervision.

The report also called on the Bank of England to reconsider its appointment of FCA boss Andrew Bailey as governor of the bank. Bailey is due to become Bank of England Governor next month. The FCA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the True & Fair report.